Accessibility

1. Rhythm and time of the training.

It may take longer for a person with disabilities to complete an activity / exercise due to their disability or due to side effects from medication or dealing with pain.

They may become tired or lose concentration as more effort is required.

There might be regular absence due to medical appointments.

They may need to take regular breaks for reasons other than tiredness. Perhaps they can’t stay in the same position for long periods of time, or they must have a medical intervention e.g., an injection.

2. Adaptation of the pedagogic support material and tools.

Adaption may be needed when considering one or more of the following disabilities: visual, audio, mobility, psychological.

To avoid tiredness, it is best to alternate between theoretical sessions and practical sessions. Once a theoretical session has been taught, make sure the next session is practical. Then allow for further repetition of the theory and consolidation using different resources if necessary.

Vary the resources regularly to avoid concentration problems: PowerPoint, listening, exercises, discussion, role play, quiz, video, text, interactive games.

Assess what the student might be able to achieve in a set period; it may take longer.

Provide documents to remind learners of important points such as grammar structure, and examples to relieve any memory problems. Do not pressure learners into having to make their own notes.

Guide learners on how they will learn best considering the barriers or difficulties their disability might cause.

3. Adaptation of the way the training is assessed / evaluated.

The evaluation time may take longer.

The method of evaluation may need to be changed, focused more on oral expression for someone who has sight problems or more on written expression for someone with difficulty hearing. Using the Intercountry platform and the EYES test might not be possible for someone who cannot use screens. The online test can be printed out using a large font of more than 4.5mm, and the learner can be accompanied in their use of the site to activate the listening exercises. It might be possible to create an audio-based assessment. For example: how would you respond if someone said “XYZ”?

4. Adaptation of the physical environment.

All the facilities used by the disabled learner need to be considered: the reception, the training room, the toilets, lunch area, break room, parking, and access to public transport.

5. Check the compliance of the training center.

Our centres are compliant (ERP 5) and accessible for people with disabilities. There is a ramp to enter the training centre and each room. We can adapt accessibility so that people with reduced mobility can access the training rooms and if possible, the bathroom. A digital whiteboard, connected to the coach’s computer, can be used to read a document aloud or to present a document on the screen with large font. The photocopiers can also be used to print out documents with a large font (above 4.5mm) if necessary.

6. Adapting the structure and behaviour of the pedagogic team.

Welcoming a learner with disabilities may require a great degree of adaption and thought for the different members of the team, regarding both the organisation and the pedagogic material.

Firstly, the relationship with the prescribing organism or company is of upmost importance. Compatibility of the learning objectives needs to be cross referenced with the medical barriers of the learner with disabilities before advancing.

Individual interview- Learners with disabilities must be given an individual interview. Rules of confidentiality mean you cannot ask a person directly about their disability but instead explain that the more we understand what we can do to help the person the better we can make their learning experience with Intercountry.

The following points will help the learner identify their needs:

• A visit of the office where they will have their training.
• Explanation about the planning, contents, methods, and tools used for the training.

The types of questions that could be asked:

• How do you see your training with Intercountry?
• What do you need us to do to make the learning experience better for you?
• Do you have any worries that we can help you to address concerning the coordination / method / frequency / or anything else?
• Is there anything we need to know about, or how we should react in case of an attack (e.g., epilepsy, diabetes, or a heart problem)?

This would be a suitable time to use the checklist of special needs.

7. Phone contact.

Particular attention needs to be paid if a first contact is made by phone and a learner mentions that they have a disability.

The person answering the phone (training) needs to inform the caller that we have a policy to adapt the training to the needs of a learner with disabilities and that we have a designated contact for disabled learners. They also need to communicate disability information to any other member of the team who will have contact with the future learner (disability contact, sales team, planning, team leader, coach).

8. Face-to-Face contact in our training centres.

If a learner with a disability arrives at the centre, then the reception, trainers, etc., must be prepared to adapt and offer help where necessary. The physical environment may need to be adapted (see point 4 above) e.g., a ramp.

If it is a first visit to the centre, then it is a good moment to visit the facilities; any points of attention can be added to the checklist of needs for the learner if they have not already been added.